Last Requests
by Abicion
Summary: This is what happens when you think about Homura's time travel physics for too long.
1. Chapter 1

The Witch Octavia von Seckendorff exploded into a vibrant fireball. Her psychedelic maze slowly collapsed upon itself, leaving only the empty train station where she had been born in its place. Four figures stood in this darkened location, each with their heads hung low in despair.

The eerie silence was suddenly interrupted by a single gunshot, followed by the sound of glass breaking. Madoka and Homura frantically turned to see Kyoko lifelessly collapse to the ground before her body changed back to its street clothes in a small flash of red light; her Soul Gem having been destroyed in the sudden attack. The two shocked Puella Magi then turned toward a hysterical Mami, who quickly outstretched her empty hand toward Homura to bind the girl in a flurry of yellow ribbons. Homura found the prospect of struggling out of her prison to be a futile one as Mami shouted.

"This is the only way! If we're all just going to turn out like Sayaka, we're better off dying now! It's better this way!"

Amidst her frantic trembling, Mami barely noticed the sound of a bow and arrow twanging from her side. Had she been a less experienced Puella Magi, she likely would have fallen victim to Madoka's attack, but her veteran ability allowed her to dodge the glowing pink projectile with a quick turn of the head. She then repositioned herself so she faced Madoka, who soon found herself in the same style of bindings as Homura. Mami tried to aim her sights toward her next mercy killing, but found her suddenly shaking arms were unable to focus on their mark. Ironically, Mami had been able to put Kyoko, someone she had hardly known, out of her misery seconds earlier, but now she couldn't bring herself to send the girl who she had grown to care for as if she were a younger sister to a peaceful end.

Mami only sputtered as she tried to subdue her rattling arms.

"This... This is all my fault! If I had listened to Homura, this never would have happened to Sayaka, and you wouldn't even be a Puella Magi! I have to be the one who ends this!"

Madoka had initially thought Mami was acting out of pure madness, but she could now understand the hidden sincerity of the older girl's brutal actions. The frightful expression that had remained on her face since Mami's outburst began gradually changed to a forced but friendly smile.

"Calm down, Mami. You couldn't have known she was telling the truth. You made the same mistake the rest of us did."

The blonde-haired gunner let out a shivering sigh as she contemplated Madoka's gentle words. Her silver rifle slowly lowered to her side before she turned her attention back to Homura.

"You can prevent this, right? That's your power, isn't it?"

Mami lowered her head in regret.

"You've been going back and trying to stop this from ever happening. That's what you've been trying to tell us."

Mami's pigtailed captive nodded shyly. The older Puella Magi then continued with a stable confidence growing in her voice.

"How far back can you go?"

Homura paused before replying, realizing the significance her response would have to Mami.

"March 16th."

Mami's eyes grew wide before she blurted her response.

"What?"

Homura looked downward in regret.

"March 16th of this year. The day you convinced Madoka to form a contract with Kyubey in my time. I can't go back any further."

Mami's confidence faded. There was no way she could be saved, having formed her own contract years before Madoka. However, when her eyes briefly glanced toward Kyoko's corpse, she began doubting she deserved to saved anyway. She slowly shook her head before she continued to question Homura.

"Why haven't you already left? If we can't get out of our contracts once we've made them, it's pretty obvious there's no hope for us this time."

Homura replied in a weak voice.

"I don't have any control over it. I'm automatically sent back each time I fail."

Mami blinked.

"Fail at what?"

Homura turned her head toward her pink-haired comrade.

"Protecting Madoka. That was my wish."

Mami's eyes closed in thought.

"I see..."

She then lifted her rifle so it pointed at Madoka again, now with a more determined aim.

"So, what you're saying is, if I pull the trigger right now, you'll get your next chance right away, right?"

Homura's demeanor abruptly turned to one of concern and desperation.

"Don't do it! There's still hope in this timeline!"

Mami answered coldly, never taking her sights off Madoka.

"What hope? You just said there's no way to prevent Madoka from becoming a Witch now."

Homura's dedication never faltered when she responded.

"We can still win! In the other timelines, the three of us were always the only Puella Magi during Walpurgis Night. Now that I'm more used to my powers, I'm sure all three of us can survive if we help each other!"

Mami wanted to roll her eyes at this display of misguided optimism, but struggled to keep her noble appearance.

"And then what? We'd be alive, but our Soul Gems will probably be polluted beyond repair. You're still not telling me how that prevents any of us from becoming Witches ourselves."

Homura peered to the side in thought before responding in a less forceful tone.

"Does... does it really matter? I'll be happy just knowing Madoka's alive at this point, no matter what form we're in. You won't even have to worry about being alone if we all become Witches at the same time, Mami."

Mami's eyes flared with another violent impulse. In a single swift action, she changed her aim from Madoka to Homura.

"Defeating Walpurgis Night just to create a bigger problem and let Kyubey have his way? What kind of happy ending is THAT?"

Homura responded only with an expression of fear. Mami's question was answered by Madoka's sad, tiny voice intervening.

"Mami, please..."

As Madoka's plea brought Mami back to relative coolness, the pink-clad Puella Magi turned toward Homura.

"I must have been really important to you in your time, huh?"

Homura's fright quickly turned to despair. Had she not been bound by Mami's trap, she would have removed her glasses to wipe away her sobs.

"I was just some clumsy classmate you barely knew, and you gave your life to protect me."

Madoka suddenly giggled softly as she tried to encourage her grieving friend.

"Don't say that, Homura. You'll never be strong enough if you think about yourself that way."

Homura swallowed her sorrow and gave a stern nod. Madoka continued to speak as cheerfully as she could.

"I understand you just want me to be happy, but I don't want to be a Witch. I'd feel terrible if I ended up destroying everything I tried to protect."

She now turned to her silent mentor.

"I think Mami has a good idea. If you go back now, you won't have to see the rest of the suffering this timeline is doomed to."

Homura's voice raised to a pleading tone toward Madoka's commitment.

"Madoka, I... I can't just give up!"

Madoka simply returned Homura's cries with a soft smile.

"Then don't, Homura. You can try again as many times as you need to, right? I'm sure you'll find a better way to end this sooner or later."

Mami finally spoke again, have regained most of her usual calmness.

"She's right, Homura. The only way to protect Madoka is if..."

Madoka looked downward as she finished Mami's sentence, having reached the same conclusion as her mentor at that moment.

"...I never become a Puella Magi."

Homura's resolution buckled as she shared the same epiphany as her two teammates. She now spoke in a low, sad voice, knowing what fate she was reserving Madoka's current form to.

"Okay, Madoka. That's what I'll do. I promise."

Mami lifted her ornate rifle for the third time, her aim as steady as ever. As she prepared herself for what she was about to do, she was left with only one question for Homura.

"Hey, Homura..."

Homura glanced compassionately toward her troubled comrade as Mami continued.

"As long as you're able to protect Madoka, and you can forgive me, just... just don't let me find out about this, okay?"

Homura eyes widened slightly as she stared at Mami through her spectacles.

"Mami?"

The skilled Puella Magi continued speaking in a desperate voice.

"I don't care if you avoid telling me, or you let one of the Witches get me. Do whatever it takes to save Madoka first, but, if you can, just make sure I stay a fool and never find out what I really am."

Homura acknowledged her request with a slow nod.

"I'll do my best."

Mami's lips briefly curled into a small, relieved smile at the dark-haired girl's reassurance. Her short happiness quickly faded, however, when she turned back toward Madoka and was reminded of the task at hand. Her younger teammate was now silently standing in place in her fabric bindings, doing her best to bravely await her death. Madoka struggled to form a caring smile of her own to hide her fear.

"Go ahead, Mami. I know you won't miss."

Mami lifted her rifle back into firing position. She carefully aimed at the poor girl's vital point before speaking in the most soothing tone her current mindset would allow her.

"I'm sorry, Madoka. I'll make sure this doesn't hurt."

Closing her eyes, Mami gently squeezed the trigger of her rifle. The last thing Homura heard was the twinkling echo of Madoka's Soul Gem shattering before she abruptly awoke in her hospital bed.


	2. Chapter 2

"_**I wondered what might have been if you had fought the final battle instead of me."**_

* * *

A sudden flash of yellow light filled the Mitakihara train station as Mami reverted back to her civilian form. Madoka and Kyoko's corpses were sprawled across the tiled floor on opposite sides of the station lobby. Homura was gone, having escaped the scene in hopes of finding a brighter tomorrow.

Temporal physics were a funny thing, as it turned out Mami would never be able to be aware of any of the changes Homura might make in some more fortunate universe. All there was left for her was to see her own timeline through to its presumably miserable end. She was alone again.

Mami summoned her egg-shaped Soul Gem into her hand and silently stared at the object for a great while. Perhaps it would have been best to place it on the ground, transform back to her mystical state, and end her own suffering just as she had done for Madoka. Gazing toward her two victims on either side, she ultimately decided she didn't deserve the luxury of death.

Next came the thought of how to handle the approaching Walpurgisnacht attack. At first, she considered the likelihood of being able to recruit and hastily train enough new Puella Magi in time to win the final battle through sheer numbers. She quickly shook this idea from her head, however. Even if she were to be honest and explain ALL of the rules to her prospective pupils, there would still be many of them who would bind themselves to a cursed existence without truly thinking the matter through. What was the point of even robbing so many innocent girls of their lives if it just meant there would be that many more Witches born in the aftermath? No one deserved that fate, and the notion of becoming just like Kyubey chilled Mami to the core.

That was the moment Mami collected her thoughts and calmly made her decision. Madoka's sacrifice filled her with more inspiration than she had ever felt. Homura's now-verified knowledge of the future made her understand the scale of the threat she was facing more than any of her previous, more naïve incarnations. She would use all of her power and all of her unsurpassed experience to single-handedly protect whatever hope was left in her world, or she would die trying.

Before she departed for her home, Mami glanced toward her Soul Gem a final time. It radiated with a lively yellow glow in her palm.

* * *

_Right on time._

It was just as Homura had described. Walpurgisnacht filled the stormy sky with her gargantuan body. Pieces of buildings levitated around her like a ring of obelisks. The Witch's strangely mechanical inner workings spun around as if they were gears in a clock counting down to Doomsday. Mitakihara was under attack; thousands were already dead.

And Mami was the only one left who could stop it.

Donned in her Puella Magi form, Mami watched her enemy slowly and ominously advance toward her from her vantage point on one of the city's surviving skyscrapers. It may have very well been the same platform that had served as her final resting place at least once before, based on Homura's vivid description. It didn't matter, though, as the same information now made Mami as prepared as she could ever be. She knew this would be no easy challenge. She would have to be clever. She would have to improvise. She would have to fight this battle to the bitter end.

Once she was ready, Mami summoned a ring of muskets out of the air around her and impaled each one into the ground in a straight line. She then materialized a single cannon in the remaining space. She hoisted the bulky weapon into both arms and, after a last doubtful sigh, she sprinted forward and lept from the edge of the roof.

Sailing through the air, she pointed the barrel of her weapon directly toward the bulk of the Witch's body. The monster began giggling maniacally as she grew in Mami's sights, amused by her opponent's apparent suicide attack. Just before contact was made, however, Mami violently veered off-course and fired in an unanticipated angle. The magical projectile created a short domino effect, knocking the floating debris just to Walpurgisnacht's out of orbit and causing it to slam into the mothership. The Witch pivoted through the air as if she were dazed, causing her to lose some of her protective power. Her defenses had been breached, and now she was wounded.

_And here comes the parade._

Mami was well into her retreat when Walpurgisnacht regained her senses. She reached the same structure she had made her leap of faith from just as a swarm of small, silhouette-like beings appeared at the Witch's sides and gave chase. When Mai feet touched the top of the roof, she continued running forward and extended her arm. She flipped each mystical rifle upward as she ran past them, never breaking her jog. As Walpurgisnacht's familiars swiftly closed in on her, they couldn't help but flying directly into the line of fine Mami had set in place. They were destroyed one by one with beautiful pre-planned accuracy, reducing the entire mob to nothing more than a rapid chain of explosions.

After using her spare artillery to pick off a few stragglers, Mami took to the air again and began erratically zigzagging around Walpugisnacht, using whatever solid ground she could find as lily pads between each hop. She used another medium-sized volley of musket fire with each pass, further chipping away at the Witch's vitality. This continued until a tiny miscalculation, bad luck, or some combination of the two got the better of her.

With what seem to be rather frustrated intent, Walpurgisnacht was able to build enough reflex to swat Mami out of mid-flight and send her screaming and hurtling back the way she came. Mami crashed into a windowless portion of a building, knocking her mostly senseless and sending her plummeting to the ground on the rebound. The fall would have easily killed her if she had been in civilian form.

After spending a brief moment sprawled across the floor of the battlefield, Mami painfully sat up and started putting her bearings back in order. She was then instantly sobered by the sound of dislodging rubble coming from somewhere over her head. For a split second, she looked up with widened eyes to see a crumpled piece of concrete heading straight toward her.

A vision of Madoka's final tearful moments of life flashed in the back of her mind. That was when she decided it couldn't end here.

On pure impulse, Mami rolled out of the way and shielded herself with her arms just as the falling debris made an impact crater in the ground. When the dust settled and she could study the object, she saw it had been big enough to pin her to the ground. Or worse.

Exhausted from the ordeal and forced to take a short breather, Mami reached to her right hairpin and temporarily removed her Soul Gem. Upon inspection, the transformed flower-shaped trinket was beginning to lose its shine, and a few bubbles frothed inside. It was starting to look like Sayaka's.

_Shit._

She placed the jewel back in her hair before proceeding further. Feeling recuperated and acting under a new sense of urgency, she climbed back to her feet and rejoined the battle without hesitation. There was only one thing left to do.

Walpurgisnacht wasn't going to fall for the same trick twice, and she now spewed minions toward Mami from every direction. Despite being vastly overwhelmed, the determined Puella Magi still propelled herself closer and closer to her target and barely dodged out of the way each time a familiar tried to stop her. When she was at the same elevation at her enemy and switched to a purely horizontal flightpath, she summoned two large canisters of gunpowder in each arm. It seemed her last stand would end with a kamikaze attack, after all.

Unfortunately, Mami's choice of actions only turned her into a larger (and therefore easier) target. Almost instantly, Walpurgisnacht's minions swarmed her and mercilessly aimed for the two explosive containers. The gunpowder predictably went off in a brilliant blast, engulfing an agonized Mami and all of her tiny aggressors. Walpurgisnacht watched with a wicked sneer as all signs of life disappeared within the growing cloud of smoke and ash. Mitakihara Town's final hope was lost.

Or was it?

_Here goes nothing._

From out of haze suddenly emerged a stream of yellow ribbons, Mami's signature melee attack. Annoyed, Walpurgisnacht sidestepped the web-like onslaught and began tracing the ribbons back to their origin. She let out a new psychotic cackle as she entered the still expanding smokescreen, closing in on her defenseless prey. This quickly faded when she reached the point where the weapon had been fired, as all she found was an abandoned ball of fabric hovering in empty space.

Walpurgisnacht's vicious sneer changed to an uncharacteristic frown when she heard the sound of a cannon barrel locking into place just behind her head. Turning around in morbid curiosity, she saw Mami waiting for her with a confident smirk on her face. The Puella Magi had used the dust cloud to invisibly flank her opponent, and now her most powerful firearm was aiming directly between Walpurgisnacht eyes at point blank range. Her elegant uniform had been nearly ruined by her unorthodox tactics, but she still had some amount of fight left in her.

Mami playfully winked.

"Hi~."

Her Soul Gem was again disconnected from her hairclip and now situated on the opposite end of the cannon, feeding magical energy directly into the already pulverizing weapon. It wasn't like she would need it after this.

"Tiro…"

Her sarcastic attitude gave way to a sudden look of desperation as she began calling her finishing attack. Then, with a resounding scream, with all the hope she held for her world's future combined with all the grief she had gone through to get here, she pulled the trigger.

"...FINALE!"

It was if the heavens themselves had opened upon Walpurgisnacht when a blinding golden light filled the sky.

* * *

Mami's Soul Gem boiled and pulsated in ominous blackness as it rested in a cup formed by its owner's hands. She was seated against a slanted piece of concrete rubble in the empty Mitakihara Town, with her school uniform showing obvious signs of battle damage.

Mami had accomplished exactly what she set out to do, but she had unfortunately walked away from the ordeal with her life. Her powers were failing her as a result of her coming rebirth, and she could barely move her own tired limbs. Once Kyubey had collected his precious energy from her, what fate would she be left to? Would some new Puella Magi be able to stop her before she caused a great deal of suffering, or would she become a Witch even more terrifying than one she had just defeated? As her thoughts were drawn more toward the latter possibility, she began to weep. A few of her tears dripped onto the shell of her Soul Gem just as it started to crack.

Mami's attention abruptly turned to a strange pink flash just in the air above her. There floated a familiar figure, dressed in typical Puella Magi attire. Mami's eyes went wide as she spoke out of disbelief.

"Madoka?"

The odd figure smiled. It confirmed its identity when it answered in the sweetest, most angelic voice its onlooker had ever heard.

"I saw everything, Mami. You're even more amazing than I remember."

Mami could hardly begin to fathom how the dead Puella Magi was communicating with her. Her mind was already in too many places. She was grateful for having a friendly visitor in such a time of despair, but her bright feelings didn't last for long. Assuming this meeting wasn't just her sanity failing her again, it could only mean Madoka had made a contract with Kyubey on some other plane of existence. Mami's tone grew frantic and concerned.

"You've become a Puella Magi again! How can you be so happy when you've doomed yourself?"

Madoka playfully shook her head. There wasn't a hint of doubt in her voice when she dispelled Mami's concerns.

"Don't worry. I have the power to free all Puella Magi's souls just before they turn into Witches, even my own."

Mami gasped in astonishment before a light hope appeared in her eyes. As she tried to piece together all that had happened since that day at the train station, she couldn't even finish her next question.

"Then, Homura…?"

Madoka gave a soft, cheerful nod as she solved the puzzle plaguing Mami's head.

"She found a better way, just like you said she would."

Next, the levitating girl reached downward and encircled her gloved hands around Mami's. The turmoil trapped inside the Soul Gem came to rest as Madoka carefully inspected the small artifact. She seemed deeply worried when she finished her assessment, but her happier complexion soon returned. She lifted her head so her eyes could meet Mami's again before she spoke in a soothing manner.

"It looks like you've used up all your magic, Mami. It's time to come with me."

A new look of concern appeared on Mami's face before she objected. She couldn't die just yet, not with the regrets that currently haunted her.

"What about Kyoko?"

Madoka offered a reassuring gaze as she understood the source of Mami's troubles. She consoled the older Puella Magi with infinite patience.

"She's already here."

Mami sounded much more carefree during her next inquiry.

"How is she?"

The pink-haired heroine giggled before she thoughtfully answered.

"Umm… she's still a little cranky over what happened, but I think she'll feel better once you get a chance to talk to her."

Mami seemed to be at peace with herself for a moment, but then her eyes shifted to the side as she wandered through darker memories. This was reflected by her voice becoming deeper.

"And Sayaka?"

Madoka replied in the simplest way she could manage. This particular topic was a more complex matter that required mathematical expertise and even she couldn't fully explain.

"In another time… well, in another universe, really, I've already saved her. You're the only one who's left from our team."

Mami finally displayed a consistently happy expression at this latest news. She no longer regretted her solitude, as she saw her efforts had ultimately saved her city and weren't in vain. With no unfinished business left, she moved her hands forward and freely offered her Soul Gem.

"Then I guess I don't need this anymore."

Madoka smiled in agreement as she went hard at work. She placed her fingertips on the gem, causing its darkness to dissipate before the object itself safely faded into nothingness. When it was gone, the symptoms of Mami's pending death were immediate. Her arms fell limply to her sides while her eyes closed halfway. She was drifting away without a single hint of discomfort.

As Mami grew progressively more dim, her more energetic comrade spoke to her in a supportive tone.

"Hey, Mami…"

Mami's eyesight had become fuzzy, making it slightly difficult to focus on Madoka. When she replied, her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Yeah?"

She had just enough time left to hear Madoka's soft, tear-jerking response.

"Thank you for being my teacher."

Mami's lips formed a small smile as her eyelids closed the rest of the way. Her head tilted toward her shoulder as she exhaled her final breath in a relaxed sigh. She peacefully disappeared in her sleep, freed from the worry of bringing any harm to her world.

* * *

**Author's note: **Like, dude, if you totally didn't just read that fight scene without blasting One OK Rock's "No Scared" in the background, you need to learn how to be metal.


End file.
